U.S. patent number 8,751,285 [Application Number 13/363,825] was granted by the patent office on 2014-06-10 for system and method for calculating a risk to an entity.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Bank of America Corporation. The grantee listed for this patent is Subhajit Deb, William Tyler Thornhill. Invention is credited to Subhajit Deb, William Tyler Thornhill.
United States Patent |
8,751,285 |
Deb , et al. |
June 10, 2014 |
System and method for calculating a risk to an entity
Abstract
According to one embodiment, a system includes a memory, a
processor, and an interface. For a first region, the processor
calculates a risk associated with a political situation of the
first region, a risk associated with a legal situation of the first
region, a risk associated with an economic situation of the first
region, a risk associated with a social situation of the first
region, a risk associated with a technological situation of the
first region, and a risk associated with an environmental situation
of the first region. For a first entity, the processor calculates a
risk associated with an exposure level of the first entity in the
first region. Based at least on these calculated risks, the
processor calculates a ranking for the first region, the ranking
representing an amount of risk to the first entity in the first
region. The interface communicates the ranking for display.
Inventors: |
Deb; Subhajit (Haryana,
IN), Thornhill; William Tyler (Forney, TX) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Deb; Subhajit
Thornhill; William Tyler |
Haryana
Forney |
N/A
TX |
IN
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Bank of America Corporation
(Charlotte, NC)
|
Family
ID: |
48871063 |
Appl.
No.: |
13/363,825 |
Filed: |
February 1, 2012 |
Prior Publication Data
|
|
|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20130197963 A1 |
Aug 1, 2013 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
705/7.28;
705/7.11 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q
10/0635 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G06Q
10/00 (20120101); G06Q 40/00 (20120101) |
Field of
Search: |
;705/7.11-7.42 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Other References
Frey, Bruno, et al., Calculating Tragedy: Assessing the Costs of
Terrorism, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics,
University of Zurich, ISSN 1424-0459, Sep. 2004. cited by examiner
.
Gerd Hagmeyer-Gaverus & Mikael Weissmann, "Early Warning
Indicators for Preventive Policy--a new approach in Early Warning
research", an Internet-Based Early Warning Indicators System for
Preventive Policy, Stockholm Int'l Peach Research Institute
(sipri), http://projects.sipri.org/ewi/; (9 pgs), Mar. 2003. cited
by applicant .
Country Risk Analyst, "HIS Global Insight: Country & Industry
Forecasting";
http://www.ihs.com/projects/global-insight/country-analysis/risk-analyst.-
aspx; (2 pgs), last printed Oct. 26, 2011. cited by applicant .
Renato Donatello Ribeiro, GWU--IBI--Minerva Program, "Country Risk
Analysis", last printed Oct. 19, 2011. cited by applicant.
|
Primary Examiner: Pats; Justin M
Assistant Examiner: Misiaszek; Amber A
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Springs; Michael A.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A system, comprising: a memory operable to store a plurality of
risk rules and a plurality of calculation rules; and a processor
communicatively coupled to the memory and operable to: for a first
region: calculate a risk associated with a political situation of
the first region according to one or more of the plurality of
calculation rules; calculate a risk associated with a legal
situation of the first region according to the one or more of the
plurality of calculation rules; calculate a risk associated with an
economic situation of the first region according to the one or more
of the plurality of calculation rules; calculate a risk associated
with a social situation of the first region according to the one or
more of the plurality of calculation rules; calculate a risk
associated with a technological situation of the first region
according to the one or more of the plurality of calculation rules;
calculate a risk associated with an environmental situation of the
first region according to the one or more of the plurality of
calculation rules; and for a first entity, calculate a risk
associated with an exposure level of the first entity in the first
region according to the one or more of the plurality of calculation
rules; based at least on the calculated risks associated with the
political situation, the legal situation, the economic situation,
the social situation, the technological situation, and the
environmental situation of the first region, and further based at
least on the calculated risk associated with the exposure level of
the first entity in the first region, calculate a ranking for the
first region according to a second one or more of the plurality of
calculation rules, the ranking representing an amount of risk to
the first entity in the first region; and an interface
communicatively coupled to the processor and operable to
communicate the ranking for the first region for display; wherein
the processor is further operable to: for a second region:
calculate a risk associated with a political situation of the
second region according to the one or more of the plurality of
calculation rules; calculate a risk associated with a legal
situation of the second region according to the one or more of the
plurality of calculation rules; calculate a risk associated with an
economic situation of the second region according to the one or
more of the plurality of calculation rules; calculate a risk
associated with a social situation of the second region according
to the one or more of the plurality of calculation rules; calculate
a risk associated with a technological situation of the second
region according to the one or more of the plurality of calculation
rules; and calculate a risk associated with an environmental
situation of the second region according to the one or more of the
plurality of calculation rules; for the first entity, calculate a
risk associated with an exposure level of the first entity in the
second region according to the one or more of the plurality of
calculation rules; based at least on the calculated risks
associated with the political situation, the legal situation, the
economic situation, the social situation, the technological
situation, and the environmental situation of the second region,
and further based at least on the calculated risk associated with
the exposure level of the first entity in the second region,
calculate a ranking for the second region according to the second
one or more of the plurality of calculation rules, the ranking
representing an amount of risk to the first entity in the second
region; and wherein the interface is further operable to
communicate a comparison of the ranking for the first region and
the ranking for the second region for display.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further operable
to: receive information from one or more data sources; for a factor
of a plurality of factors for the political situation of the first
region, calculate a risk associated with the factor for the
political situation of the first region based on the received
information and one or more of the plurality of risk rules, wherein
the risk associated with the political situation of the first
region is calculated based on risks associated with the plurality
of factors for the political situation of the first region; for a
factor of a plurality of factors for the legal situation of the
first region, calculate a risk associated with the factor for the
legal situation of the first region based on the received
information and the one or more of the plurality of risk rules,
wherein the risk associated with the legal situation of the first
region is calculated based on risks associated with the plurality
of factors for the legal situation of the first region; for a
factor of a plurality of factors for the economic situation of the
first region, calculate a risk associated with the factor for the
economic situation of the first region based on the received
information and the one or more of the plurality of risk rules,
wherein the risk associated with the economic situation of the
first region is calculated based on risks associated with the
plurality of factors for the economic situation of the first
region; for a factor of a plurality of factors for the social
situation of the first region, calculate a risk associated with the
factor for the social situation of the first region based on the
received information and the one or more of the plurality of risk
rules, wherein the risk associated with the social situation of the
first region is calculated based on risks associated with the
plurality of factors for the social situation of the first region;
for a factor of a plurality of factors for the technological
situation of the first region, calculate a risk associated with the
factor for the technological situation of the first region based on
the received information and the one or more of the plurality of
risk rules, wherein the risk associated with the technological
situation of the first region is calculated based on risks
associated with the plurality of factors for the technological
situation of the first region; and for a factor of a plurality of
factors for the environmental situation of the first region,
calculate a risk associated with the factor for the environmental
situation of the first region based on the received information and
the one or more of the plurality of risk rules, wherein the risk
associated with the environmental situation of the first region is
calculated based on risks associated with the plurality of factors
for the environmental situation of the first region.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further operable
to receive: for a factor of a plurality of factors for the
political situation of the first region, a selection of a risk
associated with the factor for the political situation of the first
region, wherein the risk associated with the political situation of
the first region is calculated based on risks associated with the
plurality of factors for the political situation of the first
region; for a factor of a plurality of factors for the legal
situation of the first region, a selection of a risk associated
with the factor for the legal situation of the first region,
wherein the risk associated with the legal situation of the first
region is calculated based on risks associated with the plurality
of factors for the legal situation of the first region; for a
factor of a plurality of factors for the economic situation of the
first region, a selection of a risk associated with the factor for
the economic situation of the first region, wherein the risk
associated with the economic situation of the first region is
calculated based on risks associated with the plurality of factors
for the economic situation of the first region; for a factor of a
plurality of factors for the social situation of the first region,
a selection of a risk associated with the factor for the social
situation of the first region, wherein the risk associated with the
social situation of the first region is calculated based on risks
associated with the plurality of factors for the social situation
of the first region; for a factor of a plurality of factors for the
technological situation of the first region, a selection of a risk
associated with the factor for the technological situation of the
first region, wherein the risk associated with the technological
situation of the first region is calculated based on risks
associated with the plurality of factors for the technological
situation of the first region; and for a factor of a plurality of
factors for the environmental situation of the first region, a
selection of a risk associated with the factor for the
environmental situation of the first region, wherein the risk
associated with the environmental situation of the first region is
calculated based on risks associated with the plurality of factors
for the environmental situation of the first region.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the interface is further operable
to: communicate a comparison of the risk associated with the
political situation of the first region and the risk associated
with the political situation of the second region for display;
communicate a comparison of the risk associated with the legal
situation of the first region and the risk associated with the
legal situation of the second region for display; communicate a
comparison of the risk associated with the economic situation of
the first region and the risk associated with the economic
situation of the second region for display; communicate a
comparison of the risk associated with the social situation of the
first region and the risk associated with the social situation of
the second region for display; communicate a comparison of the risk
associated with the technological situation of the first region and
the risk associated with the technological situation of the second
region for display; and communicate a comparison of the risk
associated with the environmental situation of the first region and
the risk associated with the environmental situation of the second
region for display.
5. The system of claim 1, further comprising a display
communicatively coupled to the interface and operable to display
the comparison of the ranking for the first region and the ranking
for the second region.
6. The system of claim 5, wherein the comparison of the ranking for
the first region and the ranking for the second region comprises a
heat map.
7. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising logic, the
logic, when executed by a processor, operable to: for a first
region: calculate a risk associated with a political situation of
the first region according to one or more of a plurality of
calculation rules; calculate a risk associated with a legal
situation of the first region according to the one or more of the
plurality of calculation rules; calculate a risk associated with an
economic situation of the first region according to the one or more
of the plurality of calculation rules; calculate a risk associated
with a social situation of the first region according to the one or
more of the plurality of calculation rules; calculate a risk
associated with a technological situation of the first region
according to the one or more of the plurality of calculation rules;
calculate a risk associated with an environmental situation of the
first region according to the one or more of the plurality of
calculation rules; and for a first entity, calculate a risk
associated with an exposure level of the first entity in the first
region according to the one or more of the plurality of calculation
rules; based at least on the calculated risks associated with the
political situation, the legal situation, the economic situation,
the social situation, the technological situation, and the
environmental situation of the first region, and further based at
least on the calculated risk associated with the exposure level of
the first entity in the first region, calculate a ranking for the
first region according to a second one or more of the plurality of
calculation rules, the ranking representing an amount of risk to
the first entity in the first region; and communicate the ranking
for the first region for display; for a second region: calculate a
risk associated with a political situation of the second region
according to the one or more of the plurality of calculation rules;
calculate a risk associated with a legal situation of the second
region according to the one or more of the plurality of calculation
rules; calculate a risk associated with an economic situation of
the second region according to the one or more of the plurality of
calculation rules; calculate a risk associated with a social
situation of the second region according to the one or more of the
plurality of calculation rules; calculate a risk associated with a
technological situation of the second region according to the one
or more of the plurality of calculation rules; and calculate a risk
associated with an environmental situation of the second region
according to the one or more of the plurality of calculation rules;
for the first entity, calculate a risk associated with an exposure
level of the first entity in the second region according to the one
or more of the plurality of calculation rules; based at least on
the calculated risks associated with the political situation, the
legal situation, the economic situation, the social situation, the
technological situation, and the environmental situation of the
second region, and further based at least on the calculated risk
associated with the exposure level of the first entity in the
second region, calculate a ranking for the second region according
to the second one or more of the plurality of calculation rules,
the ranking representing an amount of risk to the first entity in
the second region; and communicate a comparison of the ranking for
the first region and the ranking for the second region for
display.
8. The computer readable medium of claim 7, the logic, when
executed by the processor, further operable to: receive information
from one or more data sources; for a factor of a plurality of
factors for the political situation of the first region, calculate
a risk associated with the factor for the political situation of
the first region based on the received information and one or more
of a plurality of risk rules, wherein the risk associated with the
political situation of the first region is calculated based on
risks associated with the plurality of factors for the political
situation of the first region; for a factor of a plurality of
factors for the legal situation of the first region, calculate a
risk associated with the factor for the legal situation of the
first region based on the received information and the one or more
of the plurality of risk rules, wherein the risk associated with
the legal situation of the first region is calculated based on
risks associated with the plurality of factors for the legal
situation of the first region; for a factor of a plurality of
factors for the economic situation of the first region, calculate a
risk associated with the factor for the economic situation of the
first region based on the received information and the one or more
of the plurality of risk rules, wherein the risk associated with
the economic situation of the first region is calculated based on
risks associated with the plurality of factors for the economic
situation of the first region; for a factor of a plurality of
factors for the social situation of the first region, calculate a
risk associated with the factor for the social situation of the
first region based on the received information and the one or more
of the plurality of risk rules, wherein the risk associated with
the social situation of the first region is calculated based on
risks associated with the plurality of factors for the social
situation of the first region; for a factor of a plurality of
factors for the technological situation of the first region,
calculate a risk associated with the factor for the technological
situation of the first region based on the received information and
the one or more of the plurality of risk rules, wherein the risk
associated with the technological situation of the first region is
calculated based on risks associated with the plurality of factors
for the technological situation of the first region; and for a
factor of a plurality of factors for the environmental situation of
the first region, calculate a risk associated with the factor for
the environmental situation of the first region based on the
received information and the one or more of the plurality of risk
rules, wherein the risk associated with the environmental situation
of the first region is calculated based on risks associated with
the plurality of factors for the environmental situation of the
first region.
9. The computer readable medium of claim 7, the logic, when
executed by the processor, further operable to: for a factor of a
plurality of factors for the political situation of the first
region, a selection of a risk associated with the factor for the
political situation of the first region, wherein the risk
associated with the political situation of the first region is
calculated based on risks associated with the plurality of factors
for the political situation of the first region; for a factor of a
plurality of factors for the legal situation of the first region, a
selection of a risk associated with the factor for the legal
situation of the first region, wherein the risk associated with the
legal situation of the first region is calculated based on risks
associated with the plurality of factors for the legal situation of
the first region; for a factor of a plurality of factors for the
economic situation of the first region, a selection of a risk
associated with the factor for the economic situation of the first
region, wherein the risk associated with the economic situation of
the first region is calculated based on risks associated with the
plurality of factors for the economic situation of the first
region; for a factor of a plurality of factors for the social
situation of the first region, a selection of a risk associated
with the factor for the social situation of the first region,
wherein the risk associated with the social situation of the first
region is calculated based on risks associated with the plurality
of factors for the social situation of the first region; for a
factor of a plurality of factors for the technological situation of
the first region, a selection of a risk associated with the factor
for the technological situation of the first region, wherein the
risk associated with the technological situation of the first
region is calculated based on risks associated with the plurality
of factors for the technological situation of the first region; and
for a factor of a plurality of factors for the environmental
situation of the first region, a selection of a risk associated
with the factor for the environmental situation of the first
region, wherein the risk associated with the environmental
situation of the first region is calculated based on risks
associated with the plurality of factors for the environmental
situation of the first region.
10. The computer readable medium of claim 7, the logic, when
executed by the processor, further operable to: communicate a
comparison of the risk associated with the political situation of
the first region and the risk associated with the political
situation of the second region for display; communicate a
comparison of the risk associated with the legal situation of the
first region and the risk associated with the legal situation of
the second region for display; communicate a comparison of the risk
associated with the economic situation of the first region and the
risk associated with the economic situation of the second region
for display; communicate a comparison of the risk associated with
the social situation of the first region and the risk associated
with the social situation of the second region for display;
communicate a comparison of the risk associated with the
technological situation of the first region and the risk associated
with the technological situation of the second region for display;
and communicate a comparison of the risk associated with the
environmental situation of the first region and the risk associated
with the environmental situation of the second region for
display.
11. The computer readable medium of claim 7, the logic, when
executed by the processor, further operable to display the
comparison of the ranking for the first region and the ranking for
the second region.
12. The computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the
comparison of the ranking for the first region and the ranking for
the second region comprises a heat map.
13. A method, comprising: for a first region: calculating, using
one or more processors, a risk associated with a political
situation of the first region according to one or more of a
plurality of calculation rules; calculating, using the one or more
processors, a risk associated with a legal situation of the first
region according to the one or more of the plurality of calculation
rules; calculating, using the one or more processors, a risk
associated with an economic situation of the first region according
to the one or more of the plurality of calculation rules;
calculating, using the one or more processors, a risk associated
with a social situation of the first region according to the one or
more of the plurality of calculation rules; calculating, using the
one or more processors, a risk associated with a technological
situation of the first region according to the one or more of the
plurality of calculation rules; calculating, using the one or more
processors, a risk associated with an environmental situation of
the first region according to the one or more of the plurality of
calculation rules; and for a first entity, calculating, using the
one or more processors, a risk associated with an exposure level of
the first entity in the first region according to the one or more
of the plurality of calculation rules; based at least on the
calculated risks associated with the political situation, the legal
situation, the economic situation, the social situation, the
technological situation, and the environmental situation of the
first region, and further based at least on the calculated risk
associated with the exposure level of the first entity in the first
region, calculating, using the one or more processors, a ranking
for the first region according to a second one or more of the
plurality of calculation rules, the ranking representing an amount
of risk to the first entity in the first region; and communicate,
using the one or more processors, the ranking for the first region
for display; for a second region: calculating, using the one or
more processors, a risk associated with a political situation of
the second region according to the one or more of the plurality of
calculation rules; calculating, using the one or more processors, a
risk associated with a legal situation of the second region
according to the one or more of the plurality of calculation rules;
calculating, using the one or more processors, a risk associated
with an economic situation of the second region according to the
one or more of the plurality of calculation rules; calculating,
using the one or more processors, a risk associated with a social
situation of the second region according to the one or more of the
plurality of calculation rules; calculating, using the one or more
processors, a risk associated with a technological situation of the
second region according to the one or more of the plurality of
calculation rules; and calculating, using the one or more
processors, a risk associated with an environmental situation of
the second region according to the one or more of the plurality of
calculation rules; for the first entity, calculating, using the one
or more processors, a risk associated with an exposure level of the
first entity in the second region according to the one or more of
the plurality of calculation rules; based at least on the
calculated risks associated with the political situation, the legal
situation, the economic situation, the social situation, the
technological situation, and the environmental situation of the
second region, and further based at least on the calculated risk
associated with the exposure level of the first entity in the
second region, calculating, using the one or more processors, a
ranking for the second region according to the second one or more
of the plurality of calculation rules, the ranking representing an
amount of risk to the first entity in the second region; and
communicating, using the one or more processors, a comparison of
the ranking for the first region and the ranking for the second
region for display.
14. The method of claim 13, further comprising: receiving, using
the one or more processors, information from one or more data
sources; for a factor of a plurality of factors for the political
situation of the first region, calculating, using the one or more
processors, a risk associated with the factor for the political
situation of the first region based on the received information and
one or more of a plurality of risk rules, wherein the risk
associated with the political situation of the first region is
calculated based on risks associated with the plurality of factors
for the political situation of the first region; for a factor of a
plurality of factors for the legal situation of the first region,
calculating, using the one or more processors, a risk associated
with the factor for the legal situation of the first region based
on the received information and the one or more of the plurality of
risk rules, wherein the risk associated with the legal situation of
the first region is calculated based on risks associated with the
plurality of factors for the legal situation of the first region;
for a factor of a plurality of factors for the economic situation
of the first region, calculating, using the one or more processors,
a risk associated with the factor for the economic situation of the
first region based on the received information and the one or more
of the plurality of risk rules, wherein the risk associated with
the economic situation of the first region is calculated based on
risks associated with the plurality of factors for the economic
situation of the first region; for a factor of a plurality of
factors for the social situation of the first region, calculating,
using the one or more processors, a risk associated with the factor
for the social situation of the first region based on the received
information and the one or more of the plurality of risk rules,
wherein the risk associated with the social situation of the first
region is calculated based on risks associated with the plurality
of factors for the social situation of the first region; for a
factor of a plurality of factors for the technological situation of
the first region, calculating, using the one or more processors, a
risk associated with the factor for the technological situation of
the first region based on the received information and the one or
more of the plurality of risk rules, wherein the risk associated
with the technological situation of the first region is calculated
based on risks associated with the plurality of factors for the
technological situation of the first region; and for a factor of a
plurality of factors for the environmental situation of the first
region, calculating, using the one or more processors, a risk
associated with the factor for the environmental situation of the
first region based on the received information and the one or more
of the plurality of risk rules, wherein the risk associated with
the environmental situation of the first region is calculated based
on risks associated with the plurality of factors for the
environmental situation of the first region.
15. The method of claim 13, further comprising receiving, using the
one or more processors: for a factor of a plurality of factors for
the political situation of the first region, a selection of a risk
associated with the factor for the political situation of the first
region, wherein the risk associated with the political situation of
the first region is calculated based on risks associated with the
plurality of factors for the political situation of the first
region; for a factor of a plurality of factors for the legal
situation of the first region, a selection of a risk associated
with the factor for the legal situation of the first region,
wherein the risk associated with the legal situation of the first
region is calculated based on risks associated with the plurality
of factors for the legal situation of the first region; for a
factor of a plurality of factors for the economic situation of the
first region, a selection of a risk associated with the factor for
the economic situation of the first region, wherein the risk
associated with the economic situation of the first region is
calculated based on risks associated with the plurality of factors
for the economic situation of the first region; for a factor of a
plurality of factors for the social situation of the first region,
a selection of a risk associated with the factor for the social
situation of the first region, wherein the risk associated with the
social situation of the first region is calculated based on risks
associated with the plurality of factors for the social situation
of the first region; for a factor of a plurality of factors for the
technological situation of the first region, a selection of a risk
associated with the factor for the technological situation of the
first region, wherein the risk associated with the technological
situation of the first region is calculated based on risks
associated with the plurality of factors for the technological
situation of the first region; and for a factor of a plurality of
factors for the environmental situation of the first region, a
selection of a risk associated with the factor for the
environmental situation of the first region, wherein the risk
associated with the environmental situation of the first region is
calculated based on risks associated with the plurality of factors
for the environmental situation of the first region.
16. The method of claim 13, further comprising: communicating,
using the one or more processors, a comparison of the risk
associated with the political situation of the first region and the
risk associated with the political situation of the second region
for display; communicating, using the one or more processors, a
comparison of the risk associated with the legal situation of the
first region and the risk associated with the legal situation of
the second region for display; communicating, using the one or more
processors, a comparison of the risk associated with the economic
situation of the first region and the risk associated with the
economic situation of the second region for display; communicating,
using the one or more processors, a comparison of the risk
associated with the social situation of the first region and the
risk associated with the social situation of the second region for
display; communicating, using the one or more processors, a
comparison of the risk associated with the technological situation
of the first region and the risk associated with the technological
situation of the second region for display; and communicating,
using the one or more processors, a comparison of the risk
associated with the environmental situation of the first region and
the risk associated with the environmental situation of the second
region for display.
17. The method of claim 13, further comprising displaying the
comparison of the ranking for the first region and the ranking for
the second region.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
This disclosure relates generally to the field of risk calculation
and more specifically to a system and method for calculating a risk
to an entity.
BACKGROUND
In order to determine a risk to an entity in a region, the region
is typically analyzed based on a particular feature. For example,
if the entity is a financial institution, the region may typically
be analyzed based on only the economic situation of the region. As
such, the typical systems and methods for calculating the risk to
an entity in a region are deficient.
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE
According to one embodiment, a system includes a memory, a
processor, and an interface. For a first region, the processor
calculates a risk associated with a political situation of the
first region, a risk associated with a legal situation of the first
region, a risk associated with an economic situation of the first
region, a risk associated with a social situation of the first
region, a risk associated with a technological situation of the
first region, and a risk associated with an environmental situation
of the first region. For a first entity, the processor calculates a
risk associated with an exposure level of the first entity in the
first region. Based at least on these calculated risks, the
processor calculates a ranking for the first region, the ranking
representing an amount of risk to the first entity in the first
region. The interface communicates the ranking for display.
Certain embodiments of the disclosure may provide one or more
technical advantages. For example, a ranking that represents an
amount of risk to the entity in the region may be calculated based
on a risk associated with an exposure level of the entity in the
region. Therefore, the ranking for the region may be based on the
entity's existing infrastructure in the region. Furthermore, the
calculation of the ranking for the first region may also be based
on one or more specifics of the entity, itself. As another example,
the calculation of the ranking that represents an amount of risk to
the entity in the region may further be based on risks associated
with each of a political situation of the region, a legal situation
of the region, an economic situation of the region, a social
situation of the region, a technological situation of the region,
and an environmental situation of the region. As such, the ranking
may be based on more than one situation type of the region,
providing a more balanced analysis of the region. As a further
example, based on the calculated risks for a plurality of regions,
a comparison of the rankings of each of the regions (or a
comparison of one or more calculated risks of each of the plurality
of regions) may be determined and communicated for display to a
user. As such, the user may be able to view and analyze a
comparative analysis of the rankings of each of the regions and/or
of the calculated risks of each of the regions (such as a
comparative analysis of the risk associated with a political
situation or an economic situation for each of the plurality of
regions).
Certain embodiments of the disclosure may include none, some, or
all of the above technical advantages. One or more other technical
advantages may be readily apparent to one skilled in the art from
the figures, descriptions, and claims included herein.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and its
features and advantages, reference is now made to the following
description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings,
in which:
FIG. 1 illustrates a system for calculating the risk to an entity
in one or more regions;
FIGS. 2A-2C illustrate an example display according to one
embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 3 illustrates an example display according to one embodiment
of the present disclosure;
FIG. 4 illustrates an example display according to one embodiment
of the present disclosure; and
FIG. 5 illustrates a method for calculating the risk to an entity
in one or more regions according to one embodiment of the present
disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Embodiments of the present disclosure are best understood by
referring to FIGS. 1 through 5 of the drawings, like numerals being
used for like and corresponding parts of the various drawings.
FIG. 1 illustrates a system 10 for calculating the risk to an
entity in one or more regions. System 10 includes a calculation
device 14 that calculates the risk to the entity in one or more
regions. For example, calculation device 14 may calculate risks to
the entity based on a political situation, a legal situation, an
economic situation, a social situation, a technological situation,
an environmental situation, or any suitable combination of the
preceding. Furthermore, calculation device 14 may further calculate
a risk associated with an exposure level of the entity in the
region. Based on each of these calculated risks, calculation device
14 may calculate a ranking for the region. Such a ranking may
represent an amount of risk to the entity in the region. In
particular embodiments, the calculations conducted by calculation
device 14 may allow a user to understand and mitigate current and
future threats to the entity. Furthermore, the calculations may
help a user understand the market growth or decline, business
position, potential for operations of the entity, and/or direction
for operations of the entity.
An entity represents any suitable entity that may be located in a
region, may be traveling to a region, may be conducting business in
a region, or may be associated (either currently or in the future)
with a region. For example, the entity may include a person, a
business, a corporation, a financial institution (e.g., such as a
bank), or any other suitable entity.
A region represents any geographical area. For example, a region
may represent a town, a plurality of towns, a city, a plurality of
cities, a state, a plurality of states, a country, a plurality of
countries, a continent, a plurality of continents, or any other
suitable geographical area.
In order to determine a risk to an entity in a region, the region
is typically analyzed based on one or more features. For example,
if the entity is a financial institution, the region may typically
be analyzed based on only the economic situation of the region.
Such analysis, however, does not provide a full picture of the
current and future threats to the entity. In particular, although
the economic situation of a region may be important to an entity
(such as a financial institution), other situation types may also
be important to that entity, but may not typically be analyzed. For
example, situation types like the political situation, the legal
situation, the social situation, the technological situation, and
the environmental situation may also be important to the entity,
but may not be typically analyzed. In addition to not analyzing a
region based on various situation types that may be important to
the entity, such typical analysis also does not take into account
an entity's existing infrastructure in the region. For example, a
typical analysis may not take into account the fact that the entity
is already located in the region and conducting business in the
region. As such, the typical systems and methods for calculating
the risk to an entity in a region may be deficient.
In particular embodiments, system 10 of FIG. 1 may calculate the
risk to an entity in a region in a manner that may provide various
advantages. For example, a ranking that represents an amount of
risk to the entity in the region may be calculated based on a risk
associated with an exposure level of the entity in the region.
Therefore, the ranking for the region may be based on the entity's
existing infrastructure in the region. Furthermore, the calculation
of the ranking for the first region may also be based on one or
more specifics of the entity, itself. As another example, the
calculation of the ranking that represents an amount of risk to the
entity in the region may further be based on risks associated with
each of a political situation of the region, a legal situation of
the region, an economic situation of the region, a social situation
of the region, a technological situation of the region, and an
environmental situation of the region. As such, the ranking may be
based on more than one situation type of the region, providing a
more balanced analysis of the region. As a further example, based
on the calculated risks for a plurality of regions, a comparison of
the rankings of each of the regions (or a comparison of one or more
calculated risks of each of the plurality of regions) may be
determined and communicated for display to a user. As such, the
user may be able to view and analyze a comparative analysis of the
rankings of each of the regions and/or of the calculated risks of
each of the regions (such as a comparative analysis of the risk
associated with a political situation or an economic situation for
each of the plurality of regions).
Calculation device 14 represents any components that calculate a
risk to an entity in one or more regions. Calculation device 14 may
include a network server, any remote server, a mainframe, a host
computer, a workstation, a web space server, a personal computer, a
file server, or any other device operable to calculate the risk to
an entity in one or more regions. The functions of calculation
device 14 may be performed by any combination of one or more
servers or other components at one or more locations. In the
embodiment where the module is a server, the server may be a
private server, and the server may be a virtual or physical server.
The server may include one or more servers at the same or remote
locations. Also calculation device 14 may include any component
that functions as a server. In the illustrated embodiment,
calculation device 14 includes a network interface 18, a processor
22, and a memory 26.
Network interface 18 represents any device operable to receive
information from network 46, transmit information through network
46, perform processing of information, communicate to other
devices, or any combination of the preceding. For example, network
interface 18 may receive information from a data source 58. As
another example, network interface 18 may communicate a ranking for
a region for display on a user device 54. Network interface 18
represents any port or connection, real or virtual, including any
suitable hardware and/or software, including protocol conversion
and data processing capabilities, to communicate through a local
area network (LAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a wide area
network (WAN), or other communication system that allows
calculation device 14 to exchange information with network 46,
administration device 50, user devices 54, data sources 58, or
other components of system 10.
Processor 22 communicatively couples to network interface 18 and
memory 26, and controls the operation and administration of
calculation device 14 by processing information received from
network interface 18 and memory 26. Processor 22 includes any
hardware and/or software that operates to control and process
information. For example, processor 22 executes calculation device
management application 30 to control the operation of calculation
device 14. Processor 22 may be a programmable logic device, a
microcontroller, a microprocessor, any processing device, or any
combination of the preceding.
Memory 26 stores, either permanently or temporarily, data,
operational software, or other information for processor 22. Memory
26 includes any one or a combination of volatile or non-volatile
local or remote devices suitable for storing information. For
example, memory 26 may include random access memory (RAM), read
only memory (ROM), magnetic storage devices, optical storage
devices, or any other information storage device or a combination
of these devices. While illustrated as including particular
modules, memory 26 may include any information for use in the
operation of calculation device 14.
In the illustrated embodiment, memory 26 includes calculation
device management application 30, risk rules 34, selected risks 38,
and calculation rules 42. Calculation device management application
30 represents any suitable set of instructions, logic, or code
embodied in a computer readable storage medium and operable to
facilitate the operation of calculation device 14.
Risk rules 34 represent any information that may be used to
calculate a risk associated with a factor of a situation type of a
region. For example, as is discussed above, each region may have
various situation types, such as a political situation, a legal
situation, an economic situation, a social situation, a
technological situation, and/or an environmental situation.
Furthermore, each of the situation types of the region may include
a plurality of factors that may be used to calculate the risk
associated with the situation type of the region. As an example,
for the political situation of a region, the factors that may be
used to calculate the risk associated with the political situation
of the region may include a factor regarding corruption in the
region, a factor regarding terrorism in the region, a factor
regarding organized crime in the region, a factor regarding
weaponry in the region, and/or a factor regarding a geo-political
conflict in the region.
As is discussed above, risk rules 34 may represent any information
that may be used to calculate risks associated with the factors for
the situation type of the region. For example, based on information
received from data sources 58, processor 22 may use one or more
risk rules 34 in order to calculate that there is a low risk of
corruption in the region. Risk rules 34 may include any suitable
rule. For example, risk rules 34 may provide that a region has a
low risk for corruption when there is little to no information
regarding corruption in the region, when information from data
sources 58 indicates that there is a low risk of corruption in the
region, when corruption (or indicators of corruption) is mentioned
infrequently in the information received from data sources 58, or
upon the occurrence of any other event that indicates that there is
a low risk of corruption in the region. A further example of risk
rules 34 is discussed below.
In the illustrated embodiment, risk rules 34 may be provided to
calculation device 14 by administration device 50. For example, a
user (such as an administrator) using the administration device 50
may create each of the risk rules 34 and may transmit them to
calculation device 14 in order to be used to calculate risks
associated with the factors for the situation type of the
region.
Selected risks 38 represent any information regarding a selected
risk for a factor for a situation type in the region. For example,
if a factor for the political situation in the region is the risk
of corruption in the region, selected risk 38 may include a
selection of "low risk" for corruption in the region. According to
the illustrated embodiment, selected risk 38 may be based on a
selection made by a user and/or device of system 10. For example, a
user who has knowledge of the region may determine that there is a
low risk for corruption in the region (based on his own knowledge
and/or documents/reports that he has received regarding the
region), and may provide the selection of "low risk" for corruption
in the region. In particular embodiments, selected risks 38 may
include selections received from administration device 50, user
devices 54, data sources 58, and/or any other suitable device of
system 10. In particular embodiments, if a factor for a situation
type for a region has a selected risk 38, a risk for that factor
may not be calculated by processor 22. Instead, processor 22 may
use the selected risk 38 for that factor.
Calculation rules 42 represent any information that may be used to
calculate a risk associated with a situation type for a region,
calculate a risk associated with an exposure level of the entity in
the region, and/or calculate a ranking for the region. Calculation
rules 42 may include any suitable type of rule. For example, with
regard to the risks associated with a situation type of the region,
calculation rules 42 may provide that the risk associated with the
situation type of the region is an average of the risks associated
with each of the factors for that situation type. For example, if
each of four factors of a situation type have a risk with a value
of 4, calculation rule 42 may provide that the risk associated with
the situation type of the region is equal to 4 (e.g.,
(4+4+4+4)/4=4). As other example, calculation rules 42 may provide
that a risk associated with a situation type for a region may be
calculated according to any other suitable rule, such as a weighted
average, an aggregate, or any other suitable rule. A further
example of calculation rules 42 is discussed below.
In the illustrated embodiment, calculation rules 42 may be provided
to calculation device 14 by administration device 50. For example,
a user (such as an administrator) using the administration device
50 may create each of the calculation rules 42 and may transmit
them to calculation device 14 in order to be used to calculate the
risk associated with the situation types of the region, the risk
associated with an exposure level of an entity in the region,
and/or the ranking for the region.
Network 46 represents any network operable to facilitate
communication between the components of system 10, such as
calculation device 14, administration device 50, user devices 54,
and data sources 58. Network 46 may include any interconnecting
system capable of transmitting audio, video, signals, data,
messages, or any combination of the preceding. Network 46 may
include all or a portion of a public switched telephone network
(PSTN), a public or private data network, a LAN, a MAN, a WAN, a
local, regional, or global communication or computer network, such
as the Internet, a wireline or wireless network, an enterprise
intranet, or any other communication link, including combinations
thereof, operable to facilitate communication between the
components.
Administration device 50 represents any components that allow a
user of the administration device 50 (such as an administrator) to
control calculation device 14 and/or provide information to
calculation device 14 (such as provide risk rules 34, selected
risks 38, and/or calculation rules 42 to calculation device 14).
Administration device 50 may include a personal computer, a
workstation, a laptop, a wireless or cellular telephone, an
electronic notebook, a personal digital assistant, or any other
device (wireless, wireline, or otherwise) capable of receiving,
processing, storing, and/or communicating information with other
components of system 10 in order to allow a user to control
calculation device 14 and/or provide information to calculation
device 14. Administration device 50 may comprise a user interface,
such as a display, a microphone, keypad, or other appropriate
terminal equipment usable by a user.
User device 54 represents any components that may display
information received from calculation device 14. User device 54 may
include a personal computer, a workstation, a laptop, a wireless or
cellular telephone, an electronic notebook, a personal digital
assistant, or any other device (wireless, wireline, or otherwise)
capable of receiving, processing, storing, and/or communicating
information with other components of system 10 in order to display
information received from calculation device 14. User device 54 may
further allow a user to request information from calculation device
14 and/or provide information to calculation device 14. For
example, in order to understand and mitigate current and future
threats to an entity in a region, a user may request the ranking
for the region, a comparison of the ranking of the region with the
ranking of any suitable number of other regions, a comparison of
the risk associated with a situation type for a region and the risk
associated with the same situation type of any suitable number of
other regions, and/or or any other suitable information from
calculation device 14. User device 54 may comprise a user
interface, such as a display, a microphone, keypad, or other
appropriate terminal equipment usable by a user.
User device 54 may display a graphical user interface 56 in order
to allow a user to view the information provided by calculation
device 14. Graphical user interface 56 may include any graphical
interface that allows the user to view information provided by
calculation device 14, request information from calculation device
14, and/or provide information to calculation device 14. For
example, graphical user interface 56 may allow a user to input one
or more pieces of information (such as a selected risk 38) to
transmit to calculation device 14. In particular embodiments,
graphical user interface 58 may be accessible to a user through a
web browser.
Although FIG. 1 illustrates system 10 as only including two user
devices 54 (user device 54a and user device 54n), system 10 may
include any suitable number of user devices 54. For example, system
10 may include less than two user devices 54 or more than two user
devices 54.
Data source 58 may represent any source of information that may be
used by calculation device 14. Data source 58 may include a device
(such as a database, a personal computer, a workstation, a laptop,
a wireless or cellular telephone, an electronic notebook, a
personal digital assistant, or any other device capable of
receiving, processing, storing, and/or communicating information),
a person (such as a person who has knowledge of a region and who
provides such knowledge for communication to a calculation device
14), one or more documents (such as a newspaper that includes
articles or other information about the region), the Internet
(which may include articles and other information about the
region), an open source intelligence report, a media outlet (such
as a television station or a radio station that broadcasts
information that may be communicated to calculation device 14),
and/or any other suitable source of information. According to the
illustrated embodiment, calculation device 14 may receive
information from data sources 58 in order to calculate a risk
associated with a factor for a situation type of a region and/or
calculate a risk associated with an exposure level of an entity in
the region.
Although FIG. 1 illustrates calculation device 14, administration
device 50, user devices 54, and data sources 58 as separate
components, in particular embodiments, two or more of the
calculation device 14, administration device 50, user devices 54,
and data sources 58 may be the same component. For example, the
calculation device 14, administration device 50, and user devices
54 may be the same device. As such, a user may view the ranking of
a region and/or input risk rules 34 at the same device that
calculates the ranking of the region. As another example, data
sources 58 may be the same device as user devices 54. As such,
calculation device 14 may receive information from the same device
that displays the ranking of a region.
In an example embodiment of operations, in order to understand and
mitigate current and future threats to an entity, a user may
transmit a request 100 to calculation device 14. Request 100 may
represent a request for any suitable calculation and may include
any suitable information to facilitate calculation of data by
calculation device 14. For example, request 100 may include a
request for the ranking of a particular region, a comparison of the
ranking of a particular region with the rankings of any suitable
number of other regions, a comparison of a risk associated with a
situation type of a particular region and a risk associated with
the same situation type for any suitable number of other regions, a
comparison of a risk associated with a factor for a situation type
for a particular region and a risk associated with a factor for the
same situation type for any suitable number of other regions,
and/or any other suitable request.
In response to receiving request 100, calculation device 14 may
conduct any type of calculation for one or more regions. As an
example, calculation device 14 may calculate a ranking that
represents an amount of risk to an entity in a region. In order to
do so, calculation device 14 may conduct one or more of the
following steps.
First, calculation device 14 may determine a region for the
calculation. This determination may be based on information
included in request 100. For example, calculation device 14 may
determine the region based on an identity of a region included in
request 100. Therefore, if request 100 requests a ranking for
Canada, calculation device 14 may determine the region to be
Canada.
Second, calculation device 14 may determine a situation type for
the region. According to the example embodiment, situation types
for a region may include the following situation types: (1) a
political situation for the region; (2) a legal situation for the
region; (3) a economic situation for the region; (4) a social
situation for the region; (5) a technological situation for the
region; and (6) an environmental situation for the region.
Although system 10 has been described as including the six
situation types discussed above, any suitable number of situations
types and any other suitable types of situation types may be
included in system 10 of FIG. 1. For example, the situation types
for a region may include any other macro-environmental situation
type for the region, any other technical situation type for the
region, or any other situation type that may need to be taken into
consideration for developing business or sustaining business of an
entity. According to the example embodiment, calculation device 14
may determine a situation type for the region by selecting one of
the situation types. For example, calculation device 14 may select
a political situation for the region as the situation type.
Third, calculation device 14 may determine whether a risk
associated with a factor of the situation type has been received.
As is discussed above, each situation type may include a plurality
of factors that may be used to determine the risk associated with
the situation type for the region. According to the example
embodiment, the situation types discussed above (e.g., a political
situation, a legal situation, an economic situation, a social
situation, a technological situation, and an environmental
situation) may include the following factors: (1) Political
Situation (a) Corruption (b) Terrorism (c) Organized Crime (d)
Weaponry (e) Geo-Political Conflict (2) Legal Situation (a)
Judicial Independence (b) Audit & Reporting Standard (c) Legal
Framework (d) Intellectual Property Protection (e) Transparency in
Government policymaking (3) Economic Situation (a) Asset Price
Collapse (b) Price Volatility (c) Quality of Infrastructure (d)
Business Sophistication (e) Liquidity/Credit Crunch (4) Social
Situation (a) Demographic Challenges (b) Economic Disparity (c)
Food/Water Security (d) Migration (e) Business Impact of Chronic
Diseases (5) Technological Situation (a) Information Infrastructure
(b) Online Data and Information Security (c) Threats from New
Technology (d) Availability of Latest Technology (e) Firm Level
Technology Absorption (6) Environmental Situation (a)
Avalanches/Drought/Heat Wave/Earthquakes (b) Tornadoes/Hurricanes
(c) Snow/Ice Storms (d) Volcanic Eruptions/Tsunamis (e) Forest
Fire/Landslide/Flood
Calculation device 14 may select one of the factors for one of the
situation types and determine whether a risk associated with that
factor has been received. For example, if calculation device 14
selects the corruption factor for the political situation of
Canada, calculation device 14 may determine whether the risk
associated with the corruption factor for the political situation
of Canada has been received.
Calculation device 14 may receive a selection of a risk associated
with a factor of the situation type in a selection message 104.
Selection message 104 may represent a selection of a risk for any
factor for any situation type for any region. For example,
selection message 104 may represent a selection of "low risk" for
the corruption factor for the political situation of Canada.
According to the example embodiment, once the selection has been
received by calculation device 14, the selection may be stored in
memory 26 as the selected risk 38 for that factor.
Based on the selected risk 38 received from selection message 104,
calculation device 14 may associate the selected risk 38 with that
factor for that situation type for that region. For example,
calculation device 14 may associate the "low risk" selection with
the corruption factor for the political situation of Canada.
According to the example embodiment, selection message 104 is
received by calculation device 14 from user device 54a. In such an
embodiment, a user of user device 54a may have determined (based on
their own knowledge and/or an analysis of any suitable amount of
documents and/or information) that the selection included in
selection message 104 is the risk that should be associated with
the factor for the situation type of that region.
Although FIG. 1 illustrates selection message 104 as having been
received from user device 54a, in particular embodiments, selection
message 104 may have been received from any of the user devices 54,
any of the data sources 58, administrative device 50, and/or from
an input directly into calculation device 14 (such as by a keyboard
of calculation device 14).
According to the example embodiment, if a risk associated with a
factor of a situation type for a region has not been received,
calculation device 14 may calculate the risk associated with the
factor. As an example, calculation device 14 may receive
information from a data source, such as information 108 received
from data source 58a. Information 108 may include any suitable
information that may be used by calculation device 14 in order to
calculate the risk associated with a factor of the situation type
for a region. For example, information 108 may include one or more
reports from experts on the region, one or more articles regarding
the region, one or more television and/or radio reports regarding
the region, and/or any other type of information regarding the
region. Based on information 108, and further based on one or more
risk rules 34, calculation device 14 may calculate the risk
associated with a factor of the situation type for the region.
Risk rules 34 may include any suitable rule for calculating risks
associated with the factors for the situation type of the region.
For example, the risk rules 34 may provide that the corruption
factor is a "low risk" when the information received from data
source 58 indicates that the region has only had a predetermined
number of corruption cases within a certain time period (such as
four corruption cases within the last ten years). Therefore, based
on information 108, and such risk rules 34, calculation device 14
may calculate that there is a "low risk" for the corruption factor
for the political situation for Canada.
Although the example embodiment has described risk rules 34 as
including a particular rule for calculating a risk associated with
a factor of a situation type for a region, any other suitable rule
may be used to calculate such a risk. For example, risk rules 34
may include any other type of rules and/or measurements for
calculating a risk.
Fourth, calculation device 14 may determine whether there are any
other factors of the situation type for the region. For example, if
a risk has been determined (using the selected risk 38 and/or the
calculation of the risk discussed above) for only the corruption
factor for the political situation of a region, calculation device
14 may determine that a risk needs to be determined for the rest of
the factors for the political situation. If it is determined that
there are other factors of the situation type for the region, the
third step (discussed above) may be repeated for each of the
factors. However, if there are no other factors for the situation
type, calculation device 14 may move to the fifth step.
Fifth, calculation device 14 may calculate the risk associated with
the situation type for the region. According to the example
embodiment, the risk associated with the situation type for the
region may be calculated based on one or more of the risks
associated with the factors of the situation type and one or more
of the calculation rules 42. For example, in order to calculate the
risk associated with the political situation for Canada,
calculation device 14 may calculate the risk based on the risk
associated with the corruption factor, the terrorism factor, the
organized crime factor, the weaponry factor, and the geo-political
conflict factor for Canada, and further based on one or more of the
calculation rules 42.
Calculation rules 42 may include any suitable rules for calculating
the risk of the situation type of the region. For example,
according to the example embodiment, calculation rules 42 may
include a rule for calculating the risk of the situation type of
the region based on an average of the risks associated with the
factors for the situation type. For example, according to the
example embodiment, each of the risks associated with the factors
for a situation type may be equivalent to a value. In particular,
"low risk" may be equal to the value 1, "medium risk" may be equal
to the value 2, "medium-high risk" may be equal to the value 3, and
"high risk" may be equal to the value 4. Based on these values,
calculation device 14 may use calculation rules 42 to determine
that the risk for the situation type is the average of each of
these values. For example, for the political situation of Canada,
if the risk for the corruption factor is "low risk," the risk for
the terrorism factor is "low risk," the risk for the organized
crime factor is "medium risk," the risk for the weaponry factor is
"low risk," and the risk for the geo-political conflict factor is
"low risk," the risk for the political situation of Canada may be
calculated to be 1.2 (e.g., (1+1+2+1+1)/6=1.2).
Although the example embodiment has described calculation rules 42
as including a particular rule for calculating a risk associated
with a situation type for a region, any other suitable rule may be
used to calculate such a risk. For example, risk calculation rules
42 may include any other type of rules and/or measurements for
calculating a risk, such as a weighted average.
Sixth, calculation device 14 may determine whether there are any
other situation types for the region. For example, if a risk has
been calculated for only the political situation of a region,
calculation device 14 may determine that a risk needs to be
determined for the remaining situation types for that region. If it
is determined that there are other situation types for the region,
steps 2-6 (discussed above) may be repeated for each of the
situation types. However, if there are no other situation types,
calculation device 14 may move to the seventh step.
Seventh, calculation device 14 may calculate a risk associated with
an exposure level of an entity in the region. An exposure level of
an entity in the region may refer to how critical the region is to
the current organization and/or makeup of the entity. Furthermore,
it may also ascertain the institutional risk exposure from an
existing infrastructure standpoint of the entity. In order to
calculate this risk, calculation device 14 may determine the entity
that the risk is calculated for. According to the example
embodiment, the identity of the entity may be indicated in request
100. For example, request 100 may request the ranking for a
particular entity in a particular region. Based on this indication,
calculation device 14 may determine to calculate the risk
associated with the exposure level of that particular entity in the
region.
According to the example embodiment, calculation device 14 may
follow steps similar to steps 3-5, (discussed above), in order to
calculate the risk associated with an exposure level of an entity
in the region. For example, similar to step 3, calculation device
14 may determine whether a risk associated with a factor of the
exposure of the entity has been received. A factor of the exposure
level of the entity may refer to any factor that may be used to
determine the risk associated the exposure level of the entity in
the region. According to the example embodiment, the factors for
the exposure level of the entity may include: (1) Criticality
(e.g., how critical the businesses of the entity in the region
are); (2) Data Center/Critical location (e.g., is there a data
center (such as one or more servers, one or more critical
applications of the entity, and/or one or more information storage
areas of the entity) in the region); (3) Associate Population
(e.g., number of employees); (4) Number of lines of business (e.g.,
number of lines of business of the entity in the region); and (5)
Regulatory/Customer Notification (e.g., the laws affecting the
business of the entity).
Similar to step 3, calculation device 14 may determine that the
risk associated with a factor of the exposure level of the entity
has been received if a selection of that risk has been received,
such as in selection message 104. If it is determined that a
selection has been received (and stored as a selected risk 38), the
selection may be used as the risk associated with the factor of the
exposure level of the business of the entity. On the other hand, if
a selection has not been received, similar to step 3, calculation
device 14 may receive information 108 from a data source 58
regarding the entity. In addition to receiving information 108 from
a data source 58, information 108 may further be received directly
from the entity, itself, or from internal files stored by the
entity. After information 108 is received, and also similar to step
3, calculation device 14 may calculate the risk associated with the
factor based on one or more risk rules 34.
Once a risk has been determined for each of the factors of the
exposure level of the entity in the region, calculation device 14
may calculate the risk associated with the exposure level of the
entity in the region. According to the example embodiment, such a
calculation may be similar to the calculation in step 5, discussed
above. For example, the calculation of the risk associated with the
exposure level of the entity may be based on the risk associated
with each of the factors of the exposure level, and further based
on one or more calculation rules 42. In particular, if the risk
associated with the business criticality factor is "high risk," the
risk associated with the data center/critical location factor is
"medium risk," the risk associated with associate population factor
is "high risk," the risk associated with the number of lines of
business factor is "high risk," the risk associated with the
regulatory/customer notification factor is "low risk," and the
calculation rules 42 provide that the risk associated with the
exposure level of the entity in the region may be calculated as the
average of each of these risks, the risk associated with the
exposure level of the entity in the region may be 3 (e.g.,
(4+2+4+4+1)/6=3).
Although the example embodiment is described above as using a
calculation rule 42 that calculates the risk of exposure level of
the entity based on a particular rule, in particular embodiments,
any other suitable calculation rules 42 may be used. For example,
calculation rules 42 may include any other type of rules and/or
measurements for calculating a risk, such as a weighted
average.
Eighth, the calculation device 14 calculates the ranking for the
region. The ranking for the region may refer to the ranking of a
risk to an entity in the region. For example, if the region has a
high ranking, there may be a high risk to the entity in the region.
On the other hand, if the region has a low ranking, there may be a
low risk to the entity in the region.
According to the example embodiment, the ranking of the region may
be based on one or more of the calculated risks associated with the
situation types of the region, and may be further based on the
calculated risk associated with the exposure level of the entity in
the region. For example, the ranking for a region, such as Canada,
may be based on the calculated risks associated with the political
situation, the legal situation, the economic situation, the social
situation, the technological situation, and the environmental
situation for Canada, and may be further based on the calculated
risk associated with the exposure level of the entity in Canada.
Furthermore, the ranking of the region may be calculated according
to one or more of the calculation rules 42. Calculation rules 42
may include any suitable rule for calculating the ranking of the
region. As an example, the ranking of the region may be calculated
according to Sharpe's Ratio: S(X)=(r.sub.x-R.sub.f)/StdDev(x) where
S(X) equals the ranking of the region where r.sub.x equals an
aggregate of all the risks associated with the situation types for
the region where R.sub.f equals the risk associated with the
exposure level of the entity where StdDev(x) equals the standard
deviation of the aggregate of all the risks associated with the
situations types for all of the regions (e.g., if rankings have
been calculated for three regions, StdDev(x) is equal to the
standard deviation of the aggregate of all the risks associated
with the situations types for each of the three regions)
Although the example embodiment is described above as using a
calculation rule 42 that provides for a calculation of a ranking of
a region based on a particular equation, in particular embodiments,
any other suitable calculation rules 42 may be used. For example,
calculation rules 42 may include any other type of equations,
rules, and/or measurements for calculating the ranking of a
region.
Ninth, calculation device 14 determines whether there are any other
regions to calculate a ranking for. For example, it may be
determined that there are other regions to calculate a ranking for
when request 100 includes a request for multiple regions (such as a
request for the rankings for Canada and the United States). As
another example, even if request 100 did not include a request for
the rankings of multiple regions, calculation device 14 may
determine that there are other regions to calculate a ranking for
if there are any other regions in the city, state, country,
continent, or any other suitable geographic area. If it is
determined that a ranking needs to be calculated for other regions,
steps 1-9 may be repeated for each of the regions. On the other
hand, if it is determined that there are no other regions to
calculate a ranking for, calculation device 14 may move to step
10.
Tenth, calculation device 14 may communicate one or more results
112 for display. Results 112 may include any suitable information
to be displayed in any suitable format. For example, if request 100
included a request for the ranking for a particular region, results
112 may include the ranking for the particular region. As another
example, if request 100 included a request for a comparison of a
ranking of a particular region with the rankings of any suitable
number of other regions (and/or a comparison of the risk associated
with a situation type for a particular region and the risks
associated with the same situation type of any suitable number of
other regions), results 112 may include such information for
display. In particular embodiments, results 112 may display the
information as a heat map and/or any other graphical
representation. Furthermore, based on results 112, user device 54
may display results 112 on graphical user interface 56. As such, a
user of user device 54 may be able to understand and mitigate
current and future threats to an entity.
Although FIG. 1 has been described above as calculating risks and
rankings with regard to a single entity, in particular embodiments,
system 10 may be used to calculate risks and rankings with regard
to multiple entities. As such, a user may be able to understand and
mitigate current and future threats to multiple entities and may be
able to compare the current and future threats of the multiple
entities.
Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to system 10
without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the
calculations performed by calculation device 14 may be performed
without receiving a request from a user. As such, if a user does
later request a ranking, the ranking may have already been
calculated, and may be communicated without any further
calculations. Additionally, system 10 may include any number of
calculation devices 14, networks 46, administration devices 50,
user devices 54, and/or data sources 58. Any suitable logic may
perform the functions of system 10 and the components within system
10.
FIGS. 2A-2C illustrate an example display 100 according to one
embodiment of the present disclosure. Display 100 includes one or
more of the calculations conducted by calculation device 14 of FIG.
1. Display 100 may be displayed to a user using a user device, such
as user device 54a of FIG. 1. In particular embodiments, display
100 may be displayed to a user in response to the user providing a
request for the information included in display 100.
Display 100 includes information regarding the risks to an entity
in a plurality of countries. In the illustrated embodiment, display
100 includes a political situation risk column 104, a legal
situation risk column 108, an economic situation risk column 112, a
social situation risk column 116, a technological situation risk
column 120, and an environmental situation risk column 124. Each of
these columns 104-124 includes calculated risks for a plurality of
countries. For example, the country Canada includes the following
calculated risks: a political situation risk of 1.2, a legal
situation risk of 1, an economic situation risk of 2, a social
situation risk of 1.5, a technological situation risk of 1, and an
environmental situation risk of 1. The risks displayed in columns
104-124 may be calculated according to the embodiment discussed in
FIG. 1.
Display 100 further includes an exposure level column 128.
According to the illustrated embodiment, the exposure level column
128 includes the following additional columns: a criticality factor
column 132, a data center/critical location factor column 136, an
associate population factor column 140, a number of lines of
business factor column 144, and a regulatory/customer notification
factor column 148. The factor columns 132-148 include the risks
associated with the factors for the exposure level for the
plurality of countries. For example, with regard to the country
Canada, display 100 includes the following risks associated with
the factors for the exposure level: a high risk for the criticality
factor for an exposure level, a medium risk for the data
center/critical location factor for the exposure level, a high risk
for the associate population factor for the exposure level, a high
risk for the number of lines of business factor for the exposure
level, and a low risk for the regulatory/customer notification
factor for the exposure level. As is discussed in FIG. 1, each of
these risks associated with the factors for the exposure level may
be determined based on selected risks 38 and/or calculations
conducted using information received from data sources 58 and risk
rules 34.
Exposure level column 128 further includes calculated exposure
level column 152. Calculated exposure level column 152 includes the
calculated risks for the exposure level of an entity in the
plurality of countries. The calculated risks associated with the
exposure level of the entity in the countries may be calculated as
discussed in FIG. 1. For example, the risk associated with the
exposure level of an entity in Canada may be calculated to be 3
(e.g., (4+2+4+4+1)/6=3).
Display 100 further includes an overall risk score column 156, an
overall risk score (normalized) column 160, an exposure level score
(normalized) column 164, and a ranking column 168. Overall risk
score column 156 may include the overall risk scores for the
plurality of countries. According to the illustrated embodiment,
the overall risk score for a country may be an aggregate of the
risks associated with each of the political situation, legal
situation, economic situation, social situation, technological
situation, and environmental situation. For example, Canada may
have an overall risk score of 7.7 (e.g., 1.2+1+2+1.5+1+1=7.7).
Overall risk score (normalized) column 160 includes normalized
versions of the overall risk scores for the plurality of countries.
For example, the overall risk score for Canada may be normalized on
a scale of 100 to be 32.08. The overall risk scores may be
normalized in any suitable manner and to any suitable scale.
Exposure level score (normalized) column 164 includes normalized
versions of the calculated exposure level risks for the plurality
of countries. For example, the calculated exposure level risk of 3
for Canada may be normalized on a scale of 100 to be 75. The
calculated exposure level risk may be normalized in any suitable
manner and to any suitable scale.
Ranking column 168 may include rankings that represents an amount
of risk to an entity in the plurality of countries. According to
the illustrated embodiment, the ranking for a country may be
calculated according to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1. For
example, a ranking for a country may be calculated according to the
Sharpe's Ratio. In particular, the ranking for Canada may be
calculated as 1.28842.
Although display 100 has been described above as only including
particular information, any other suitable information may be
included in display 100. For example, in particular embodiments,
the risks associated with each of the factors of each of the
situation types may be illustrated in display 100. Furthermore, any
suitable number of countries may be displayed in display 100.
Additionally, instead of countries, any other suitable region may
be displayed in display 100.
FIG. 3 illustrates an example display 200 according to one
embodiment of the present disclosure. According to the illustrated
embodiment, display 200 includes a heat map that displays a
comparison of the overall risk scores for a plurality of regions.
In particular embodiments, display 200 may allow a user to compare
and contrast the overall risk scores for a plurality of
regions.
FIG. 4 illustrates a display 300 according to one embodiment of the
present disclosure. According to the illustrated embodiment,
display 300 includes a heat map that displays a comparison of the
risks associated with a political situation for a plurality of
regions. In particular embodiments, display 300 may allow a user to
compare and contrast the political situation risks for a plurality
of regions.
Although display 300 of FIG. 4 illustrates a comparison of the
risks associated with the political situation for a plurality of
regions, display 300 may include a comparison of any other suitable
risks for the plurality of regions. For example, display 300 may
include a comparison of the risks associated with one or more of
the following situation types: a political situation of a plurality
of regions, a legal situation of a plurality of regions, an
economic situation of a plurality of regions, a social situation of
a plurality of regions, a technological situation of a plurality of
regions, an environmental situation of a plurality of regions,
and/or an exposure level of an entity in a plurality of
regions.
FIG. 5 illustrates a method 400 for calculating the risk to an
entity in one or more regions according to one embodiment of the
present disclosure. In particular embodiments, one or more steps of
method 400 may be performed by calculation device 14 of FIG. 1.
The method begins at step 402. At step 404, a region is determined.
According to the example embodiment, the determination may be based
on information included in a request received by calculation device
14.
At step 406, a situation type for the region is determined.
According to the example embodiment, a situation type for the
region may be determined by selecting a situation type from the
following: a political situation for the region, a legal situation
for the region, an economic situation for the region, a social
situation for the region, a technological situation for the region,
and an environmental situation for the region.
At step 408, it may be determined whether a risk associated with a
factor of the situation type has been received. If a risk
associated with a factor of the situation type has been received,
the method may move to step 414. On the other hand, if a risk
associated with a factor of the situation type has not been
received, the method may move to step 410, where information is
received from a data source. According to the example embodiment,
the information received from the data source may include any
suitable information that may be used in order to calculate the
risk associated with a factor of the situation type for a region.
For example, the information may include one or more reports from
experts on the region, one or more articles regarding the region,
one or more television and/or radio reports regarding the region,
and/or any other type of information regarding the region.
At step 412, the risk associated with the factor is calculated.
According to the example embodiment, the risk associated with the
factor may be calculated according to one or more risk rules
34.
At step 414, it is determined whether there are any other factors
of the situation type for the region. If it is determined that
there are other factors of the situation type for the region, steps
408-414 may be repeated for each of the factors. However, if there
are no other factors for the situation type, the method moves to
step 416.
At step 416, a risk associated with the situation type for the
region is calculated. According to the example embodiment, the risk
associated with the situation type for the region may be calculated
based on one or more of the risks associated with the factors of
the situation type and one or more of the calculation rules 42.
Once the risk associated with the situation type for the region has
been calculated, the method moves to step 418 where it is
determined whether there are any other situation types for the
region. If it is determined that there are other situation types
for the region, steps 406-418 may be repeated for each of the
situation types. However, if there are no other situation types,
the method moves to step 420.
At step 420, a risk associated with an exposure level of an entity
in the region is calculated. In order to calculate the exposure
level of an entity in the region, the method may perform one or
more steps similar to steps 406-416. For example, the method may
include determining an entity that the risk is calculated for.
Furthermore, for each of a plurality of factors of the exposure
level of the entity in the region, the method may further include
determining whether a risk associated with the factor has been
received, receiving information from a data source, and/or
calculating the risk associated with the factor. Once a risk has
been determined for each of the factors of the exposure level of
the entity in the region, the risk associated with the exposure
level of the entity in the region may be calculated according to
each of factors of the exposure level and one or more calculation
rules 42.
After the risk associated with an exposure level of the entity in
the region is calculated, the method moves to step 422, where a
ranking for the region is calculated. A ranking for the region may
refer to the ranking of a risk to an entity in the region.
According to the example embodiment, the ranking of the region may
be based on one or more of the calculated risks associated with the
situation types of the region, and may be further based on the
calculated risk associated with the exposure level of the entity in
the region. Furthermore, the ranking of the region may be
calculated according to one or more of the calculation rules 42. As
an example, the ranking of the region may be calculated according
to Sharpe's Ratio.
After a ranking for the region is determined, the method moves to
step 424 where it is determined whether there are any other regions
to calculate a ranking for. If it is determined that a ranking is
to be calculated for other regions, steps 404-424 may be repeated
for each region. On the other hand, if it is determined that there
are no other regions to calculate a ranking for, the method moves
to step 426.
At step 426, the ranking(s) for the region(s) is communicated for
display. The ranking(s) may include any suitable information to be
displayed in any suitable format. For example, the ranking(s) may
include the ranking for the particular region. As another example,
the ranking(s) may include a comparison of a ranking of a
particular region with the rankings of any suitable number of other
regions (and/or a comparison of the risk associated with a
situation type for a particular region and the risk associated with
the same situation type of any suitable number of other regions).
In particular embodiments, once the ranking(s) for the region(s) is
communicated for display, the ranking(s) may be viewed in any
suitable manner. For example, a user may view the ranking(s) on a
user device, such as user device 54a of FIG. 1. In particular
embodiments, viewing the ranking(s) may include accessing the
ranking(s) through a network. For example, the user may access the
ranking(s) through an online portal, using, for example,
SpotFire.RTM..
Once the ranking(s) for the region(s) is communicated for display,
the method moves to step 428. At step 428, the method ends.
Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to method 400.
For example, although method 400 illustrates calculation device 14
calculating a risk to an entity in one or more regions, in
particular embodiments, the calculations may be performed by any
other suitable device. Additionally, steps in FIG. 5 may be
performed in parallel or in any suitable order.
Certain embodiments of the disclosure may provide one or more
technical advantages. For example, a ranking that represents an
amount of risk to the entity in the region may be calculated based
on a risk associated with an exposure level of the entity in the
region. Therefore, the ranking for the region may be based on the
entity's existing infrastructure in the region. Furthermore, the
calculation of the ranking for the first region may also be based
on one or more specifics of the entity, itself. As another example,
the calculation of the ranking that represents an amount of risk to
the entity in the region may further be based on risks associated
with each of a political situation of the region, a legal situation
of the region, an economic situation of the region, a social
situation of the region, a technological situation of the region,
and an environmental situation of the region. As such, the ranking
may be based on more than one situation type of the region,
providing a more balanced analysis of the region. As a further
example, based on the calculated risks for a plurality of regions,
a comparison of the rankings of each of the regions (or a
comparison of one or more calculated risks of each of the plurality
of regions) may be determined and communicated for display to a
user. As such, the user may be able to view and analyze a
comparative analysis of the rankings of each of the regions and/or
of the calculated risks of each of the regions (such as a
comparative analysis of the risk associated with a political
situation or an economic situation for each of the plurality of
regions).
Although the present invention has been described with several
embodiments, a myriad of changes, variations, alterations,
transformations, and modifications may be suggested to one skilled
in the art, and it is intended that the present invention encompass
such changes, variations, alterations, transformations, and
modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims.
* * * * *
References